About B. Wurtz

In 1973, Bill Wurtz—better known as B. Wurtz—made a text drawing titled Three Important Things, which simply read: “sleeping, eating, keeping warm.” Since then, the vast majority of Wurtz’s works reference at least one of those three essential activities. Wurtz is best known for standing and hanging sculptures from discarded common objects, like food wrappers, shoelaces, plastic bags, and locks. He says that the unremarkable quality of these materials is what attracts him, once saying: “Looking at the Universe begins with really seeing the everyday things right in front of one’s nose.” Critic Roberta Smith agreed, calling him “a master of the unassuming, if not completely disguised, artwork.”